Narisa Chakrabongse

Mom Rajawongse
Narisa Chakrabongse
Born (1956-08-02) 2 August 1956
London, England
Spouse(s) Allen Levy (div.)
Korsvasti Svasti Thomson
Children Hugo Chula Alexander Levy
Dominic Phuwasawat Chakrabongse
Parent(s) Prince Chula Chakrabongse
Elizabeth Hunter

Mom Rajawongse Narisa Chakrabongse (Thai: หม่อมราชวงศ์นริศรา จักรพงษ์; rtgs: Naritsa Chakkraphong, born 2 August 1956[1][2]) is a Thai publisher, author, and environmental activist.

Early life

She is the only daughter of Prince Chula Chakrabongse and his English wife Elizabeth Hunter. Her paternal grandfather was Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath, the Prince of Phitsanulok, who in turn was the son of King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) of Siam. As her mother was a foreign commoner, she only holds the rank of Mom Rajawongse and is not considered a member of the Thai royalty.

Education

Narisa Chakrabongse was born in England and spent the first years of her life in Tredethy, Cornwall.[3] She has studied history of art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London. She married the Englishman Allen Levy and has a son, the musician Hugo Chula Alexander or Chulachak Chakrabongse. Later they divorced and she remarried Korsvasti Svasti Thomson, son of Mom Rajawongse Sai Svasti Svastivatana and Gary Thomson, and had a son, Dominic Phuwasawat Chakrabongse.

Career

She is the founder and CEO of River Books which publishes a wide range of books on Southeast Asian art and culture, and is the editor of the Oxford River Books English-Thai Dictionary.[4] Chakrabongse Villas, the family home, is a small boutique hotel in Bangkok.[5] She is the founding president of Green World Foundation (GWF), an environmental campaign organisation promoting education and awareness about issues relating to the environment in schools.[6] A well-known media personality in Thailand, she withdrew from the torch-running ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympics, protesting against China's actions in Tibet, the first person to do so on political grounds, though others followed.[7] She is on the board of The Anglo-Thai Society, promoting good relations and cultural interchange between Thailand and the UK.

Together with her aunt Eileen Hunter she has authored Katya & the Prince of Siam, a biography of her Ukrainian grandmother Ekaterina Ivanovna Desnitskaya (Mom Katerin) and her grandfather Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath.

Works

(Selection)

Ancestors

References

  1. Soravij. "Chakrabongse". Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  2. HRH Prince Chula CHAKRABONGSE
  3. "Rebuilt hall opened by Princess Narisa". Cornish Guardian. 17 August 2012.
  4. "River Books Website". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  5. "Chakrabongse Villas Website". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  6. "Green World Foundation Website". Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  7. "Narisa, activists boycott Beijing Olympics", Bangkok Post, 22 March 2008
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